Yeldersley Hall, Natalie and Tom

Congratulations Natalie and Tom.

This was our first time at Yeldersley Hall, a Georgian country house near Ashbourne and the first time that we've had a string quartet (proper musicians) as a support act or played a dance during a thunder storm, although the light show was fantastic.

Linda Westrupp was the first of our summer guest callers and she brought some fab new (to us) dances with her. But the highlight of the evening was little Rosie's dance – if anyone took some video of this, please get in touch. Rosie, you're a star.

Sorry about the photos – I still haven't learnt how to use a camera and play the mandolin at the same time.

Linda's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Nervous Breakdown
Flying Scot
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Berkshire Swing
Heel and Toe Polka
Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Caerphilly March
Midnight on the Water / Waltz Vienna
Bottoms Up
Cumberland Square Eight
Southern Flavor
Boston Gallop
Rosie's Dance
Stoke Golding
Circassian Circle

The Ashes, Katie and Keiron

Katie and Keiron cut their cake.

Ooh, I love Christmas weddings – what better way to keep the festive party going between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve than by getting married? And the Ashes looks magical in the winter moonlight with the festive decorations twinkling away.

Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

The Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Glasgow Gallop
The Snowball
Circle Hornpipe
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Strip the Willow
The Humours of Scariff / Some Say the Devil is Dead
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Circle Waltz
The Willow Tree
The Gravel Walks / Crowley's Reels
Polka Off
Circassian Circle
Southern Flavor

Katie's First Dance.

Keiron's First Dance.

A Winter's Moon.

 

Hartington Hall, Naomi and Daniel

It's always exciting turning up to a new venue for the first time. So when I arrived at  Hartington Hall for Naomi and Daniel's wedding I had visions of performing in a seventeenth-century manor house, all oak panelling and a roaring log fire. Maybe I could slip away at some point, Pevsner in hand, to admire the plaster ceilings and five-light mullioned windows. So it was a bit of a surprise to discover that we would actually be playing in a tipi in the garden!

In the event what the tipi lacked in old world charm it made up for in quirkiness and, more to point, dancing space. Coming from mid-Wales where during the 70s every valley seemed to have it's own little tipi community I felt right at home, although I have to admit it was a bit on the chilly side by the end of the night. Quite a few of the dancers kept their coats on (this was the third gig this year where it was too cold to hold my pick – at least this time it was October and not mid-summer).

There was a wonderful DIY ethos to the proceedings with the ceremony printed on recycled paper, making a welcome change from the usual silver wedding stationery, lots of outside games and a wedding 'cake' made of cheeses – wish I'd been there all day.

Jeff's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Naomi and Daniel's first dance (Midnight on the Water)
Lucky 7
Caledonian Gallop
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Galloped
Virginia Reel
Shelly's
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Waltz
The Old Swan Gallop
Holmfirth Square Eight
A Hornpipe
The Dishrag
Circassian Circle
Cock o' the North